Dominican Republic wants more U.S help to fight drug traffic; criticizes Merida Initiative
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The Dominican Republic’s drug czar has criticized the United States for failing to support Caribbean nations in their fight against drug wars, while at the same time handing millions of dollars to Mexico and Central America to help them fight their powerful drug cartels and organized crime.
Quoted in Dominican Today this morning, Marino Vinicio Castillo, who is the drug advisor to the country’s executive branch, said that the United States government’s neglect of the Dominican Republic is obvious.
‘As an example he said Plan Merida, in which the U.S. gives US $500 million to Mexico and Central America to fight drug cartels, organized crime and human trafficking, but donates only US $2.5 million to Dominican Republic and Haiti for the same effort.’
The Merida Initiative has been criticized as being too much money, coming too late, by some, and not enough money by others. Read here to see a discussion by two experts, and here to read more about Plan Merida in general.
-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City